how to apprach school

milliebear00001

Don't worry about the set too much - it is far better to be at the top end of the lower set, than struggling away at the bottom of the top one! Also, lower sets often get more individual attention and have a higher staff-pupil ratio.

Teachers don't move children lightly. It looks like they thought he would manage, but he hasn't. Wit the best will in the world, teachers aren't seers - they can only go on what they know, and if your son was performing strongly in the lower set, they would have felt he would probaby manage, ad benefit from, the higher level/quicker speed of the work in the upper set.

Tell your son, not to be worried, and to simply do his best. Emphasise that you are not concerned by what set he is in.

Go in and ask if there are specific difficulties, and if so, what you can do to help him.

gratefulforhelp_2

OP, as a teacher I might advise you to ask the Head of Maths if they think that two months is long enough to allow your son to settle and perform at his best in the new set. I might also advise you to ask for a postponement of this change until the next test.

As a parent, I basically realise that at my daughters primary school, she will only learn any maths if I teach her (not a slur on your son's school at all) and I find bbc.co.uk/bitesize invaluable for maths practice. If he's in years 7,8 or 9 you will want the key stage three section.

Also, ask head of maths what school would like you to do at home to support your son. HTH.

flippin36

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

Sometimes it's better to be competent rather than confident.

Yes. Absolutely. And although it can be an initially demoralising when a child goes down a set, it pays off later. Its better to be top of the class, than struggling at the bottom, with regards to confidence. The best thing that my daughters school did was put her down a set for maths, she came on in leaps and bounds, and her confidence was boosted when she found herself helping/explaining things to those that were struggling. Competence first, confidence will follow.

I have complete faith in my daughters school, and I think its great that they contacted OP to let her know .

Gingham_R

Tough knock for a child and confidence is so important in being able to do well but his confidence may have been knocked further if he was struggling in the wrong group.

I can't recommend mathletics enough if you want to help him at home and give him a confidence boost. It's flippin brilliant!

VfM4meplse

The change is a bit sudden isn't it and also sounds rather unilateral? When your DS was moved up one set, was there an agreed progress plan? It sounds to me like the teacher doesn't want his pupil's aggregate results compromised, and his reputation in the process.

JC9297

VfM4meplse wrote: »

The change is a bit sudden isn't it and also sounds rather unilateral? When your DS was moved up one set, was there an agreed progress plan? It sounds to me like the teacher doesn't want his pupil's aggregate results compromised, and his reputation in the process.

I think it is rather optimistic for secondary schools to do this for every child that changes set, presumably the school consider half a term long enough to establish whether a child is capable of working at the level and speed of the other children.

gratefulforhelp_2

VfM4meplse wrote: »

The change is a bit sudden isn't it and also sounds rather unilateral? When your DS was moved up one set, was there an agreed progress plan? It sounds to me like the teacher doesn't want his pupil's aggregate results compromised, and his reputation in the process.

A class teacher is unlikely to be controlling which child is in which set, and one student in KS3 is not going to have an impact on the teacher's reputation.

It sounds like the result of an overzealous policy that has no recourse to common sense.

[Deleted User]

As others here have said, don't go in with all guns blazing, altho obviously u have reason.

Do some maths work with your son, ask yourself if he seems to be struggling? If he is, try to figure out why.., is it one area he is having problems with? Has he missed something in school or did he zone out during a lesson and its led to comprehension problems. Are things being explained in a way he can understand? I used to have to work quite hard to find a way to explain things to my son so he could understand how to do something. Once I'd found that way, and he understood, he went way beyond what I'd explained! He is very able in maths.., but it has to be explained so he can understand. The problem was the way of teaching, not his ability.

I'm afraid sometimes (not always) schools can make mistakes with the stats of tests. My son was put into a remedial class in English because he couldn't write manually.., altho he had a reading age so high he couldn't be assessed, and very high comprehension results. Rather than giving him appropriate extra assistance (a scribe) with the one area he had problems with they put him in a class where they were learning to read four letter words lol. As you say, it had a major effect on his self esteem. I managed to get that changed within 24 hours lol.

I tend to tutor my son at home a lot to make up small areas he is having problems with.., and there's still a need to do this even though my son is now 15 and in a much much better school. Sometimes a child needs the individual attention a school can't give. Just the way it is I'm afraid.

BUT he might be happier in the lower set.., only you can judge your son's abilities. I was in the top set for everything except maths (Set 3).., and I did well there.., when I was put in Set 2.., there were things I had missed out on and I did very badly. It still affects me now, 30 years later.